Guora Gate

Sightseeing

The Guora Gate or Great Gate (as the locals use to call it) is the main entrance to the old town of Rethymno.

The gate was built during the Venetian rule between 1556-1568. The gate took its name from the rector, in whose presence the gates were built, Giacomo Guora.

The gate has an opening 2,6 m. wide and it used to be the main entrance to the walled city, which led to the central square. In the central there were the most important public buildings of that era such as Loggia, Rimondi fountain and Clock tower.

The Guora gate is the only one of the three gates (Pili tis Ammou - just before the Santa Barbara bastion and Dello Squero) left intact from the initial fortress. The semicircular arch of the inner doorway of the gate, which survives until today has undergone many wear over the years. In its original form, the archway was crowned with a triangular pediment bearing the lion of St Mark in relief.

Today, in front of the Gate lie the shopping street Ethnikis Antistaseos where there are many shops with traditional handicrafts. Along the stretch, there are narrow streets of the old town with many preserved houses, monuments, shops, bars and tavernas.